Elephant Nature Park Chiang Mai ‘A place for nursing Thai elephants’
Thai people have been giving their attention to elephants for so long. Beside of being the symbol of Thailand, elephants are important to the tourism of this country too.
There is no wonder why there are so many tourism attractions that consist of elephants in Thailand, including those in Chiang Mai. Beside of Mae-Tang Elephant Camp or Mae-Sa Elephant Camp, there is another one you should go, in order to see more value of Thai elephants’ lives. It is ‘Elephant Nature Park’.
Elephant Nature Park is an elephant nursing centre, which is located in Mae-Tang District, Chiang Mai Province.
Many people, including Thai people, worry about elephants safety. They have seen many elephants get tortured and over-used for works. Actually, these moral facts have been being debated all along. And these are the reasons why Elephant Nature Park has been set up for.
Elephants Nature Park was established in the year 1995. It aims for protecting elephants and taking good care of them. All elephants within the area can live happily. However, things are not always easy as it may seems. The authorities of the centre have been dealing with many problems, including deforesting. Deforesting is probably the worst, because there haven’t been many trees there already. Deforesting has caused elephants the lack of food. The elephants usually search for their foods by picking leaves and fruits. If there aren’t enough trees, the elephants will be very hungry and can even become ill. This caused the authorities to buy extra foods from other places instead, which costs much money. Moreover, these extra foods are not always clean. Some of them are even mixed with insecticide, which is dangerous for the elephants.
From that point, the centre had to build their own barn, in order to plant more trees to have enough healthy food for the elephants.
There are about 32 elephants living at the centre, from baby elephants to old elephants. Most of them were tortured and abandoned before being rescued by the authorities. However, their unfortunate time is over. Now they live happily in the middle of natural surroundings, along with perfect care of the kind-hearted humans all the time. There is nothing to worry about.
Another mission of the organization is to learn more about elephants’ lives. At this point, it means learning to improve their lives and how to maintain ethics for them, including rescuing more elephants.
You can visit Elephants Nature Park if you want to. When you enter the area, you will see the elephants walking around freely. They aren’t lock up in cages. Of course, not. You will see them doing many lovely activities, for instances, using their trunks to pump water before sprinkle onto their bodies to quench the heat they feel or to clean themselves.
As soon as you see these images, you will immediately understand why elephants have been being the respectable animals of Thailand since the historic age. You will also fall in love with elephants.
Elephants Nature Park is available everyday, from 7:30-17:00. There are ven shelters for you if you want to spend the nights. You can even join the elephant caring team too.
For further details, you may visit the website www.elephantsnaturepark.org. , to follow the news, because the organization always arrange volunteer trips, for those who want to travel to some place else to rescue and help elephants. These cost money if you want to go, of course. The prices are different, depending on the destinations and how long you will go. But these will be your best experiences ever, definitely.
How to get there
Elephants Nature Park is located in Mae-Tang County, Chiang Mai Province. The best way to go is the use the shuttle buses from the centre. These shuttle buses will pick you up from the hotel you stay, even it’s in Chiang Mai downtown.
Nearby Places
Here are some other tourist attractions in Mae-Tang District.
Sri Lanna National Park features attractions such as Mon Hin Lai Waterfall, the 9-tiered waterfall in Mae Ngat Forest, Mae Ngat Sombun Chon Dam famous for rafting activity, Huai Mae Rangong and Huai Pa Phlu Waterfalls, Pha Daeng Cave, and Doi Mae Wa Hang natural study trail. No accommodation available but camping is permitted.
This is a royal project of King Bhumibol. His purpose was all about providing enough water for local agriculturists. The area of the dam is enourmous and beautiful. Tourists are able to go for sightseeing or feeding the fishes.
This waterfall is located within Doi Suthep-Pui National Park. It’s a one-storied waterfall. It’s not very big, but its beauty is not less than any other waterfalls. In fact, this is a good place for you if you want to relax yourself or get away from your stress. Moreover, you can also explore ‘Mok Fah Cave’, which is a home of many bats.
This place aim for showing great love between humans and elephants. By going there, you will see the elephants performing their special abilities, for instances, drawing, kicking balls, playing music instruments, and lots more. Believe it, you don’t want to forget your camera at home. There are also many activities waiting for you. You can sail a bamboo raft along the stream or sitting on a cart for sightseeing. On top of that, there are good restaurants within the area. If you get exhausted or hungry, just go in. The foods are delicious and clean.
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